Punjab National Bank (PNB) has reported a 13 per cent year-on-year growth in standalone net profit for the third quarter of FY26, supported by higher income, improved asset quality, and stable balance sheet metrics.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, the bank posted a net profit of Rs 5,100 crore, compared with Rs 4,508 crore in the same period last year. Total income increased to Rs 37,253 crore from Rs 34,752 crore a year ago, while interest income rose to Rs 32,231 crore from Rs 31,340 crore.
Net interest income (NII), however, declined 4.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 10,533 crore, primarily due to margin pressures. Operating profit improved to Rs 7,481 crore during the quarter, up from Rs 6,621 crore in Q3 FY25, reflecting better operating efficiency.
On the asset quality front, PNB continued to report improvement. Gross non-performing assets (GNPA) declined by 90 basis points to 3.19 per cent from 4.09 per cent a year earlier. Net NPAs also moderated to 0.32 per cent from 0.41 per cent in the year-ago quarter.
Provisions against bad loans rose sharply to Rs 1,341 crore from Rs 318 crore last year. Clarifying the increase, PNB Managing Director and CEO Ashok Chandra said the rise was due to an additional Rs 955 crore provision made in line with Expected Credit Loss (ECL) norms, which will be applicable from April 1, 2027. Recoveries from technically written-off accounts doubled to Rs 1,956 crore during the quarter, aided by recovery from a large account.
Addressing concerns around Vodafone exposure, Chandra said the bank has an exposure of around Rs 300 crore and has not undertaken any fresh lending. He added that the bank expects net interest margins to remain in the range of 2.8 per cent–2.9 per cent for the current financial year.
Business growth remained healthy. Total deposits grew 8.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 16.60 lakh crore, while advances rose 10.9 per cent to Rs 12.31 lakh crore as of December 31, 2025. Return on Assets (RoA) improved to 1.06 per cent from 1.03 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year. The Capital Adequacy Ratio strengthened to 16.77 per cent, compared with 15.41 per cent in December 2024.
For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, Punjab National Bank reported a cumulative net profit of Rs 11,679 crore, slightly lower than Rs 12,063 crore recorded in the same period of the previous financial year.
Send news announcements/press releases to:
editor@thefoundermedia.com
